#1071 Thirty nine dollars, sixty cents

February 7, 2010

All photos: Olly Rose.

I snatched two opportunities to go shopping while in Paris. The first, on the second-to-last day of Haute Couture in between shows, the second, on my last day before flying out. Three stores – Comme des Garcons (for the Comme Play Chucks), UNIQLO and The Gap. UNIQLO is my favourite of the chain stores. It’s like the Japanese version of H&M but better – great basics, no unnecessary details, the best unbranded knitwear. I was after another cashmere sweater like the navy vee neck I bought in New York, but when I got there, all the cashmere was gone. What they did have, though, was a giant selection of heavy lambswool cardigans. And they were cheap. So, so cheap. €19.90. $NZD39.60 at today’s exchange rate, but I’m pretty sure that while I was there it was more like $35.00. How anybody can make a profit on a fully knitted lambswool cardigan while selling it for less than forty NZD is beyond me. The mind boggles. I picked up the forest green melange version, it being the colour of the season and all. The shirt is +J (Jil Sander for UNIQLO). It was ten euro more expensive. The mind boggles.